Parasites
Parasites are a class of diseases created by Harkon Armal.(467) The function largely like Diseases but require external aid in order to be cured. There are a large variety of parasites in the world; below are listed just a few. =Oculites= Oculites are a Magical Paragon Tier Parasites that are capable of living in any natural environment, though they are most common in swamps and marshes where they can easily attach to hosts that travel through that region. Small specimens look like little more than small, thin spiders with white bodies and red legs. However, once the Oculite finds a host it will begain to draw nutrients from it and grow in size. Begining at the second stage, the oculite can be easily seen to be an eyeball with eight starfish-like tentacles, which suction it to the host. As Oculite continues to grow its tenticles begin to dig into the host until they are fully sumberged under the skin at the final stage. Removing the eyeball without also removing the tentacles does not cure the infection; the parasite will just grow a new eye. Once the final stage of infection is reached, the oculite's eye will pop, giving birth to countless oculite young. A new eye will begin to grow if the tentacles are not removed, progressing once again through the stages of infection. Cutting the parasite out of the host seems to work as long as it is done within the first stage of infection, but afterwards the creature is too deeply integrated into the host's body. Only magic can cure the infection, or amputation. Stages of Infection *Parasite Free: The host is free of infection. *Initial Infection/Stage 1: The subject suffers -2 to their total HP. This cannot be cured without removing the parasite. *Stage 2: The host's eyesight is reduced to 1/2 the range of normal, but the host can see their normal distance via the oculite. The host also suffers -2 to HP max and loses 1 healing surge (these cannot be restored until the parasite infection is removed). *Stage 3: The host's eyesight is reduced to 1/2 the normal range in regular light and is blind in low-light, but the host can see as per Low-Light vision via the oculite. The host also suffers -4 to HP max, loses 1 healing surge, and suffers -2 to con (these cannot be restored until the parasite infection is removed). *Stage 4: The host's eyes no longer function, but the host can see as if it had low-light vision and darkvision via the oculite. The host also suffers -6 to HP max, loses 1 healing surge, suffers -2 to con, and suffers -2 to attack (these cannot be restored until the parasite infection is removed). *Stage 5: The host's eyes no longer function, but the host can see as if it had low-light vision and darkvision via the oculite. The host can also see auras (magical, good, and evil) on people places and things within a 10 square radius. The host also suffers -8 to HP max, loses 2 healing surges, suffers -2 to con, and suffers -2 to attack (these cannot be restored until the parasite infection is removed). *Stage 6: The host's eyes no longer function, but the host can see as if it had low-light vision and darkvision via the ocilite. The host can also see auras (magical, good, and evil) on people places as well as all invisible creatures and things in a 10 square radius. The host also suffers -10 to HP max, loses 2 healing surges, suffers -4 to con, and suffers -4 to attack (these cannot be restored until the parasite infection is removed). *Stage 7: The oculite's eye pops, spawning countless young that will swarm from the area and attempt to infect new hosts. The original host is rendered entirely blind. The process of infection starts over, but the new penalties are cumulative to the penalties of this stage. At this stage the the host suffers -10 to HP max, loses 2 healing surges, suffers -4 to con, and suffers -4 to attack. DC Initial infection occurs when a host travels through an area infested with Oculites. The oculite makes an "attack" against the host, 16 vs fort. On a hit the host is infected (Initial Infection/Stage 2). Each night the host must roll a save. If the save fails, the parasite progresses to the next level of infection. If the save is successful, the parasite remains at the current stage of infection. One trained in the Heal skill can make a roll vs DC 35 once per day. If successful, the parasite regresses one stage. Magical means, however, are required to cure the host. =Bladeworms= Bladeworms are Mundane Heroic Tier Parasites that can be found in wild goat, deer, and boar populations. It is uncomon for these parasites to be found in "intelligent" hosts, but Kobold and goblinoid population occasionally have outbreaks. The most common form of transmission is from blood to blood; as such, transmission usually occurs during hand to hand combat (in animals, this tends to be during mating season). However, bladeworms can be easily obtained on the black market. Vials of infected blood can be used to coat bladed weapons. Individuals injured by such weapons will likely be infected with this parasite, which stunts the healing process. Stages of Infection *Parasite Free: At this stage the host is free of infection. *Stage 1: The parasites are nearly erradicated from the wound; the HP penalty is reduced by half (minimum 1, the individuals effective Max HP cannot fall below 1). *Initial Infection/Stage 2: Any wound infected with bladeworms will not fully heal until the infection is dealt with; the host's effective maximum HP is reduced by 1d4 for each wound (but the individuals effective Max HP cannot fall below 1). *Stage 3: The parasites are thriving in the wound; the HP penalty doubles (but the individuals effective Max HP cannot fall below 1). DC Initial infection occurs when the host comes in contact with infected blood via an open wound. Bladeworms can survive up to 24 hours outside of a host. When the host comes in contact with infected blood, he or she must roll fort v DC 15. If he or she fails, they become infected. Each night the host must roll a save. If the save fails, the parasite progresses to the next level of infection. If the save is successful, the parasite remains at the current stage of infection. One trained in the Heal skill can make a roll vs DC 20 once per day. If successful, the parasite regresses one stage. =Feyfluke= Feyfluke are Mundane Heroic Tier Parasite than can be found in the Fey planes *(such as the Feywild), as well as creatures in the natural world with the Fey origin type. Only fey beings can transmit the parasites, though non-fey creatures infected with them can still experience adverse symptoms. The flukes inhabit the creatures lungs primarily. Stages of Infection *Parasite Free: The host is free from infection. *Stage 1: The feyfluke encyst. Though the host suffers no ill effects, the individual is not yet parasite free and can still relapse. *Initial Infection/Stage 2: The host's lungs are home to the feyfluke, which causes difficulty breathing. The host suffers -2 to endurance checks. *Stage 3: The feyfluke are very numerous, causing -4 to endurance checks which increases to -8 when bloodied. *Stage 4: The feyfluke are beginning to spread to other parts of the body. The host suffers -4 to endurance checks which increase to -8 when bloodied, and looses the use of one healing surge. DC Infection occurs when the host ingests the saliva of an infected creature. Usually this occurs through contaminated food or water. The host must roll fort vs DC 15 or be infected. Each night the host must roll a save. If the save fails, the parasite progresses to the next level of infection. If the save is successful, the parasite remains at the current stage of infection. One trained in the Heal skill can make a roll vs DC 20 once per day. If successful, the parasite regresses one stage. Category:Monsters